NYC UFT pushes $10K raises for teaching assistants amid budget strain

The New York Post frames the UFT's successful push for $10,000 raises for teaching assistants as wasteful 'power politics' on top of a 'bloated' NYC education budget. But the article's own statistics tell a different story: NYC school enrollment is declining, yet the education budget has grown by $4.1 billion since 2021—much of it driven by rising salaries for a range of positions. Teaching assistants, many of whom work in high-needs classrooms alongside students with disabilities, have long been among the lowest-paid school workers, often earning near-poverty wages—around $30,000–$35,000 per year—that force them to rely on public assistance. The union's advocacy secured a raise that still leaves these workers below a living wage in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. (MIT Living Wage Calculator estimates a single adult needs $50,000+ in NYC).

Behind the Post's anti-union framing lies a deeper problem: NYC's education system is systematically under-resourced, with schools chronically understaffed and overburdened. The 'bloated' budget claim ignores that per-pupil spending has not kept pace with inflation when accounting for mandated special education costs and facility maintenance. New York State still underfunds its Foundation Aid formula by an estimated $4.5 billion for NYC alone, per a legal settlement stemming from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. The real question is not whether teaching assistants deserve a raise—they do—but why the city continues to rely on low-paid, often racially diverse support staff to fill gaps created by decades of underinvestment in public education. The alternative is investing in proven strategies like smaller class sizes, wraparound services, and competitive wages that attract and retain qualified educators.